USA Today: Multi-site churches mean pastors reach thousands

Posted by Kendall Harmon

Susan Hong stops Pastor Tim Keller as he dashes up the steps of a Baptist church on a hectic corner of Broadway and West 79th Street.

She heard him preach at 10:30 a.m. on the Upper East Side. Now she has brought friends to hear him at the West Side 5 p.m. service. He briefly greets her, then slips into the service just before his sermon.

In 45 minutes, before the final hymn, Keller's gone — off to deliver the same sermon, "The Gospel Changes Everything," on the East Side.

Then, again, Keller, founder and senior pastor of Manhattan's Redeemer Presbyterian Church, will dash back to West 79th Street for his fourth service of the day at three leased locations.

Read the whole article from the front page of yesterday's paper.

Filed under: * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Evangelism and Church Growth • * Religion News & Commentary • Other Churches • Evangelicals

4 Comments
Posted December 18, 2009 at 5:50 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. Fr. Dale wrote:

Green recognizes, “We’re just not looking for that kind of relationship with a pastor anymore. Today, it’s all about a personal relationship with God, not the culture of a church.

Then why even go to church? This is Protestantism on steroids and a natural outgrowth of individualism.

December 18, 9:04 am | [comment link]
2. GMS wrote:

This is the Church of the Holy Cross (Sullivan’s Island) strategy… with one big difference… we share the preaching so that people can indeed get to know the clergy.

Having been a church planter with the Anglican Mission (in a multi-site), having done solo work, and now on staff with Holy Cross, I can say that the “multi-site” model is THE model that works best, is true to our Anglican heritage, and creates economies of scale that allow for rapid deployment, learning lab opportunities, and increased numbers of adult baptisms.

December 18, 2:49 pm | [comment link]
3. Fr. Dale wrote:

It seems that the mega churches have specialized and parceled out the spiritual gifts. By this I mean that the Gifts of Pastor, Counselor, Administration, Preacher, Teacher etc. have become specialist areas. I was at a mega church recently that had a counseling center. The “Pastor” was essentially a teacher and the sermon was essentially a teaching. It seems like the church I attended would require little prior knowledge about the culture or ethos of the church. One could become an instant member. Perhaps that is being a bit unfair but I did like the enormous coffee bar. Parishoners could even take their coffee to their pews (seats). There was even a house/church blend of coffee. Is there a good resource book out there that would help me understand the mega church phenomenon? It is not my attempt to duplicate it, just understand the appeal.

December 18, 3:53 pm | [comment link]
4. GMS wrote:

The key is in your comment: “It seems like the church I attended would require little prior knowledge about the culture or ethos of the church. One could become an instant member.”

If you’re a church that exists for those who are not yet members, then becoming an “instant member” becomes an important goal… and lowering every non-essential barrier becomes important. Note: Holy Cross’s model is to grow “sites” so that people actually know each other and a church of 1800 feels like a church of 150…

December 18, 4:26 pm | [comment link]
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